Hidden admiration
by Torie Rilistkrytcat
Summary: Jo and Lightning reflect on each other. Short Joning ficlet for Beetee Latier's secret Santa gift.


**So, after several failed attempts, I've finally published my secret Santa for Beetee Latier (Formerly Known as Banette the Puppetmaster) in our total drama writer's forum. I hope this was Ok, I'm probably not very good at writing Joning...**

**Merry Christmas, Beetee :)**

**Oh, and I don't own Total Drama.**

* * *

Jo didn't know why she even cared about Lightning. He was an idiot, someone who was so far beneath her in her eyes. His physical strength, she decided callously, was his only positive attribute. He was definitely not as intelligent as her, and his mind was crowded with arrogance and self-obsession. The way he constantly referred to himself in third person, almost idolising and glorifying himself, set Jo's teeth on edge, and the irritating prefix that he loved to add before each word was even worse; every time he obnoxiously bellowed out "Sha", Jo fought back the urge to break his nose. Even his name repulsed her; only someone truly self-absorbed and pretentious would name themselves _Lightning_. It was obvious that he considered himself to be like a Lightning bolt; fast, powerful and majestic.

Lightning was pathetic, egotistic and the most irritating person she had ever met. The fact that it took him a whole season to finally realise that she was female absolutely disgusted her. Jo despised being mistaken for a male; it got under her skin more than anything in the world. She knew she wasn't sterotypically feminine; she didn't giggle stupidly over the latest male singer or spend hours fixing her hair and make up, and she would have put the feeling of triumph and achievement that came with playing sports over shopping and other other typically "girly" activities any day. But the fact that Lightning had mistaken her for a man, even after all the times she'd yelled at him that she was a girl, was appalling. It was impossible for her not to hate him after how arrogantly and stupidly he'd behaved on the show, especially towards her.

However, Jo found that no matter how hard she tried, she didn't hate Lightning. It was odd for her; she hated almost everyone she knew, and Lightning was more aggravating than everyone who had previously annoyed her put together. He was inferior, as well, someone Jo didn't need to spare a single thought to. And yet, there was something about him...

Jo didn't get 'crushes'. She never had, and had assumed she never would. Sports had always come before guys, especially such pathetic and worthless guys as Lightning. Crushes were such a trite thing, so unlike her and so weak that she had never been dreamed she would ever think of a guy that way. But right now, the closest thing she'd ever had to a crush was on... Lightning. The very idea made her want to throw up. And yet, she had to admire the jock. Not for his overhyped muscles, or his "talent" (talent that she felt was nothing compared to _her_ talents anyway), but just... Something. Something about him made Jo actually care about him, and she hated herself for it.

* * *

In all his life, Lightning had never met a girl anything like Jo. The kind of girls he had all interacted had personalities more similar to Dakota, or Lindsay; cheerleaders who spent more time thinking about their hair and nails than anything else. Skinny, tall and traditionally ditzy blondes had surrounded Lightning ever since his preteen years, when girls had begun to admire a boy's sporting tactics rather than just dismissing sport as something gross. His father, on the few occasions that Lightning actually saw him, always told him that they were the best kind of girl to be associated with, and Lightning had taken this advice to heart. Being on the football team meant that he could be around 'beautiful' girls all the time; the cheerleaders all adored him most out of any of the football players. Lightning arrogantly believed this was his own natural charm, when it was merely because the cheer squad knew of his rich father.

Jo had been unlike any other girl he had met, which was why Lighgning had believed she was a man at first. He had grown up with the typical gender stereotypes ingrained into him; girls, he usually thought, should be cheering on the sidelines. Deep down, however, Lightning knew that Jo was female the whole time. The jock had just refused to accept it, telling himself that his original observation that Jo was male was correct. He found it impossible to come to terms with the fact that not only was she a girl- a girl unlike any girl he'd ever met, but a girl nonetheless- but that she was also betted at sports than he was. Meeting Jo completely upended Lightning's view of woken, and so he found it far easier to tell himself that Jo was a man, rather than admitting that the traditional views of women he'd known all his life were wrong.

After getting to know Jo a little more, Lightning was surprised to find tha he actually admired her. She was the only really sporty girl he had ever met, and after the ridiculously long shock of meeting a female athlete, Lightning couldn't help admiring her brusque and confident behaviour, not to mention how talented she was at sports. In fact, she was the only girl he had actually ever thought of as a person, rather than just something he could judge based solely on looks.

Not that anyone would ever know he admired Jo, of course. "Sha-Lightning" didn't admire or care about anyone other than himself...


End file.
